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Model Horse Blab FAQ

Here you can find answers to questions about how the board works. Use the links or search box below to find your way around.

What is Model Horse Blab?

Model Horse Blab is forum for discussion of the model horse hobby and
other interests of hobbyists. Blab is owned by Mary Hirsch ("Mary" on Blab.)
Blab was started in September of 2003 by Heather Roell.
Blab ownership was transitioned to Mary in July 2006.

Today Blab has several hundred members who post regularly. Some 1,100 members visit frequently. You can see
who is online, and how many members are visiting, by scrolling to the bottom of the forum main page to see interesting Blab stats.

Blab is run on the principle of the honest expression of opinions while respecting the opinions of others.
We count on the maturity and poise of our members to keep discussions interesting with the least possible moderator intervention.
And to have fun talking about our mutual obsession!

New members should know ... - Take a look through the FAQ first 2 rules sections, "Moderation" and "Acceptable Post Content."
- Blab is a wonderful place to air diverse opinions about many aspects of the hobby.
- Free members may discuss any topic with a * under the forum title, but not topics that aren't free.
- The first 7 days of membership grant free access to most paid forums.
- Sometimes Blab members may strongly disagree with each other, but without personal attacks.
- Moderators respond to all post reports (icon below each post) but *not* immediately. Moderators are not always online. (Read the "Moderation" section below.)

New Youth members should know ...- Most of the members are adults, and they appreciate respectful and thoughtful posts.
- Sometimes other members may be critical of what you post, but it's important not to be angry or upset about that.
- The Youth forum is fun! Sometimes there are contests only for Youth. So it's best to tell us your real age.
- Youth access is the same as other memberships, both paid and free, with the addition of the Youth forum.
- Registering as older than you are means you won't be able to participate in the Youth forum, activities, shows and contests.

Are you new to the hobby? And/or, new to using forums? Blab has 2 friendly places to ask any how-do-I or what-is? question!

Guests have very limited privileges on Blab. For example, a guest cannot:

- Post new threads
- Reply to other peoples' threads
- Edit her posts
- Receive email notification of replies to posts and threads she specifies
- Send private messages to other members
- Enter events in the forum calendar
- Set up a contact list to quickly see what friends are currently online

All Guests on Blab agree to abide by FAQs and Rules.

Note for Parents and Gaurdians of Minor Children

Parents or guardians are encouraged to browse Blab
forums and decide with their children where their participation is appropriate. Contact mary@modelhorseblab.com for temporary access to browse.

We can even customize permissions if a parent only
wants their child to have access to certain forums. Just contact Mary.

Parents and younger participants should know that
the majority of Blab members are adults.

Some off-topic forums do occasionally attract
discussions that are adult and personal in nature.

Blab moderates more egregious language outside of
one restricted forum, but lighter expressions of language are not edited.

Blab has a Youth Forum where expectations are more
relaxed. The principal moderators are youth.

Adult Blabbers do not have access to the Youth
forum, except for a few adult moderators and mentors.

In all forums accessible to youth, all members,
including youth, are expected to show grace and maturity in adult
conversations.

Registered users agree to abide by the Terms of Use, which include
the Membership and Forum Access Information, Rules, and Features.

Becoming a Registered User

To promote yourself from a "Guest" to a Registered User, click the "Register" link and follow the directions from there. After completing the prompts, you will receive an email from Blab verifying your email address. Follow the instructions in that email. Within a few hours after you have completed the instruction in the initial email, you will receive another email asking a question. Within 24 hours of your reply, your membership will be approved. After approval, you will be a Registered User ("Free" member). If you haven't received contact from us, be sure and check your spam folder. Alternatively once you've replied to the initial email, send an email to subscriptions@modelhorseblab.com to expedite membership approval. When you first begin, be sure to introduce yourself in the Introductions forum.

Registering for Blab is an agreement to abide by Blab rules for posting. Please review
the rules in the FAQ/Rules (scroll down this section.) In general, Blab allows members to
express their opinions so long as they are not attacking other members or hobbyists.
Blab does not moderate rudeness or opinions considered offensive, so long as they are not an
attack on a hobbyist. Please see more details below.

Valid Email Address Needed

Members who do not maintain valid email addresses may encounter problems on Blab. If the member encounters technical difficulties, the moderators' only means of verifying that the person making the technical support request is *in fact* the member in question is by reference to the email address on file. We cannot forward or get messages to you without a valid email on file. Please keep your email address up to date.

Blab does not spam or use member emails for advertising purposes. Blab may rarely need to contact a member about an important administrative issue regarding their ability to access Blab. Emails that are out-of-date or missing could cause a member to miss important information about their account.

No Multiple Accounts per Member; No Using Others' Accounts

Only one username/registration is allowed per user. Those found with multiple accounts will be contacted and all accounts will be merged into one user name. Members may not lend their usernames or passwords or otherwise allow anyone else to use their accounts. Paid members may not confer paid benefits on free members by posting material for them. Moderators can also help pull together two usernames for the same user when a user forgot an old username and is now registered twice.

No Guarantee of Uptime

Blab has an excellent uptime history. Very rarely, Blab has technical issues or updates to perform that force us to take the forums offline. Therefore, we cannot guarantee that the forums will be online and available 100% of the time. To be informed of downtimes (scheduled and unscheduled), subscribe to this Yahoo listserv.

Cancellation of Memberships Generally

Blab doesn't 'cancel' or 'delete' an account in a way that will remove posts or threads. Members have the option to cancel access to their account so that it can't be used. But their posting history will not be deleted to preserve continuity in threads. If a member wishes to have her access to Blab blocked, this can be done on request. The account won't be deleted; it just won't be accessible through user login. Access can be restored on request. Email Mary.

Cancellation of a Free Membership

The first option is for a member to simply choose not to visit Blab. The member retains all their access rights if they ever decide to return. If for any reason a member would like to have their access rights removed, so they do not have the option to log in to Blab, please contact a moderator. This is simply a matter of resetting the password to something the member doesn't know. If a member later wishes to re-activate their account they can PM or email again, and Mary can reset the password and share it with the member.

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